Rural health leaders in North Dakota are eager to see new investments to boost access to care after the state authorized the use of new federal funds.

All U.S. states are getting started on an initial wave of aid under the Rural Health Transformation Program approved by Congress last summer. It will provide $50 billion over the next five years, and North Dakota will see $200 million in the first year. With the Legislature giving the green light last week, providers and organizations working on solutions are eyeing the grant application process.

Jacob Warren, director of the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota, is confident the rural health care workforce will see more stability.

“That is a really unifying theme that we hear as we work with hospitals, clinics, and other providers across the state of North Dakota,” Warren said. “The ability to rethink how we do recruitment, to focus in on how we retain the providers that we are able to recruit.”

He pointed out when a rural hospital has trouble hiring a medical professional for a certain type of care, it loses revenue because it has to drop the service. Nationally, health researchers and advocates label the fund as a “Band-Aid” in offsetting cuts tied to Medicaid changes approved in the same law. Warren acknowledged the changes create pressure but feels the investments can still be effective.

Another area targeted for investment is technology, and Warren sees opportunities to boost telehealth. For example, he noted there is a possibility of bringing providers to rural areas, and they can do virtual visits with patients in many surrounding areas.

“The reason that we don’t always have, say, for instance, an OB in a smaller community is they don’t have the patient volume they need in that small community,” Warren said. “But telehealth can be a way for specialists to actually establish practice in a rural area and fill their patient panel through telehealth.”

He added it means there would not have to be an overreliance on urban providers doing virtual visits for patients hundreds of miles away. The state Health and Human Services Department hinted grant applications could open up as early as next month. To create awareness, the governor’s office said listening sessions, technical assistance calls and other outreach activities are being planned.